Sitting Pretty

Whew! What a week it's been. Poor little Edison has a whopper of a cold. He's had a couple of colds before this, but this one is by far the worst. Not only is he snotty, wheezy, and phlegmy, but he's also been very clingy and grumpy. He doesn't want to sit and play with his toys, he wants to be held....and I don't blame him. Being sick isn't fun.

Last week there was a "Cutest Little Baby" Contest in Maple Ridge, put on by Photo Express. You bring your baby in for a photo shoot (this year's theme was "spring"), they print 4 of the best photos and you chose one to enter into the contest. You also get to keep the 5x7 prints as well as a CD of the photos. I thought this was a great idea because, no matter how Edison does in the contest, we get some nice pictures of him to keep.

Unfortunately for us, this contest was only happening for a week and this hasn't been the greatest week for Mr. Edison. For the first half of the week I didn't want to take him in because he had a gigantic scratch right across his nose (as evidenced below). I think this was probably the worst scratch he's had on his face. So, needless to say, I wanted to wait for the scratch to go away.

Once the scratch cleared we still had a few days of the contest left to take him in. Cue the cold. As I said, the timing wasn't great; but we went in anyway and hoped for the best. All seemed to be well until I sat him down in the photo studio and walked away a few feet. Cue the clinginess factor and the tears. He didn't want me to stray too far. So once we calmed him down and wiped the tears/snot/drool off his face, we managed to get a few pictures. Unfortunately, no matter how many noises, faces, or toys that Jonathan and I waved at him, we could not coax a smile out of him. We tried...and tried...and tried...and tried. He was not in a smiling mood, which is funny because normally he is a very smiley little guy. The pictures aren't too bad... even with the straight face.

Wordless Wednesday.....on Friday...Oops

Monday's Musings - An Ode to my Valentine

For my musings today, I thought that it wouldn't be right if I didn't mention the fact that it's Valentine's Day! Jonathan and I have never been big on Valentines day. We don't really do gifts....although I do LOVE flowers (on any day of the week). But I would like to acknowledge this wonderful man that I've been married to for the past seven and a half years! So I've decided to up the cheese factor on the blog today and write Jonathan an acrostic poem. What is an acrostic poem you ask? It's a type of poem I'm sure you are familiar with because it's pretty much the easiest type to write.......and I'm no poet, so I need easy! Acrostic poems are simple poems in which each the first letter of each line forms a word or phrase (vertically). An acrostic poem can describe the subject or even tell a brief story about it. So I though I would tell you a brief story about Jonathan, using adjectives (and their dictionary definitions) to describe him. Enjoy!

J is for Jonathan. Now, I know the word Jonathan is not an adjective. However, I found the word Jonathan on urbandictionary.com and thought the definition was fitting. 

Jonathan: Loyal, Generous, Handsome individual (s), who is/are without a doubt the very best person to love. Jonathan(s) is/are Intelligent, Subtle, Strong, Rock-like Men. They are the best Friends.

No matter what happens to me, good or bad, I can be happy because I have a Jonathan.

O is for Obsessive Computer Disorder. This is another one I found on urbandictionary.com, where many funny words and definitions can be found. 

Obsessive Computer Disorder: to constantly be online or just on a personal computer for fun or entertainment. Also always thinking about anything computer related.

My husband has Obsessive Computer Disorder, a.k.a OCD, is always on the computer.

N is for Nimble. Whether he's flying through the air on a skateboard, doing a hand-stand in our living room, or doing flips off a diving board, I think this is a good word to describe him.

Nimble: quick and light in movement; moving with ease; agile; active; rapid. 

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...

A is for Abnormal. Because we all know Jonathan is a little bit different...but in a good way. 

Abnormal: not normal, average, typical, or usual; deviating from a standard.

Seeing a T Rex with a rope around its neck pulling some helpless guy along is abnormal.

  

  

T is for Talent; which Jonathan has in spades. To live with an amazing musician, who can serenade Edison and I (on a variety of different instruments), is a treat!

Talent: a special natural ability or aptitude. 

He really shows off his talent when he plays the piano.

H is for Humorous. Jonathan is good at keeping things light and funny, which makes life fun. Sometimes, however, he will joke to a stranger and they don't always get it. I'm reminded of a time when he ordered his Starbucks drink "extra hot" and then when the barista handed it to him, he instantly complained that it was too hot. She looked like she wanted to whap him, until she realized he was joking.

Humorous: displaying or creating humor; funny; comical; the quality that makes something laughable or amusing. 

His stories are always quite humorous. 

A is for Adventurous. If you follow Jonathan's facebook statuses, you know he's usually up to something adventurous; whether it's surfing in arctic temperatures, attempting crazy tricks while skateboarding, pulling doughnuts in the snow, tying a rope to a bridge and surfing in the river, or paddling a surfboard down Kanaka creek....to name a few of the crazy things he does.

Adventurous: inclined or willing to engage in adventures;  enjoying adventures; full of risk; requiring courage.

It was an adventurous undertaking.  

Finally, N is for Nocturnal. If left to his own devices, Jonathan would stay up all night and sleep in all day. Unfortunately for him, this schedule doesn't always mesh well with the schedule of a baby. 

Nocturnal: of or pertaining to the night; done, occurring, or coming at night; active at night; opening by night and closing by day, as certain flowers.

Animals that are nocturnal usually sleep during the day. 

Love you, Jonathan! Happy Valentines Day everybody!

Laughter

This evening, Jonathan was flicking a little ball up into the air and Edison thought it was the funniest thing! I love the sound of his laughter. Sometimes it's hard to make him laugh, but then something simple (when you're not even trying) will do the trick. Tonight was one of those nights.

A Jaunt through the Neighborhood

Eleana and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and go for a walk with the kidlets. What started out as a "walk to the playground and back", ended up being a 4 hour outing. We walked down a trail that follows Kanaka Creek and then ends up at Kanaka Elementary, so that Brea could play on the playground. We then walked back to my house and decided to keep going on down to Bruce's Market for lunch. We had a nice lunch, wandered the market, and then headed back home. It was a fun outing, but definitely a little longer than we originally anticipated. The kids did awesome....they all, at one point or another, had a nap (or two) in the stroller.

Here are a few of the photos I took along our walk:

This was Edison's first visit to a playground. Not much for him to do there yet, but we sat Edison and Rhys beside each other to keep each other entertained while Brea went on the slides.

This one makes me laugh....Rhys is checkin' Edison out

We are definitely looking forward to more nice weather and more fun walks!

Wordless Wednesday - I love to sneeze :)

Monday's Musings - Being a Mom

I've decided to add something new to my blog called "Monday's Musings". I've actually been enjoying blogging a lot more than I thought I would; and as much as I LOVE being a stay at home mom, some days I just don't have much to blog about. Most of my days consist of playing with/feeding/entertaining the babe, cleaning the house, laundry, and grocery shopping. It's not exactly exciting blogging material. Jonathan and I try to do fun things together as a family but he is working like a mad man at the moment, so we are looking forward to the summer when we will be able to spend much more time together.

I like how "Wordless Wednesday" gives a bit of structure to my blog. On Wednesday I don't have to rack my brain to figure out what to post about....I just have to find a cute picture. So on Mondays, I've decided to write about whatever thoughts I happen to be thinking on that day.....hopefully I have some cohesive thoughts in my tired brain on any given Monday. This way, if nothing else exciting is happening, at least I have two days a week where I have an idea of what to blog about....now we'll just see if I can stick to it. 


I thought that for today I would write about a few of the things I've learned from being a mom. I learn something new every day and I'm loving every second of it. But here are a few of the bigger things that come to mind:

1. A child is the greatest blessing and joy you could ever ask for. Words can't even describe how amazing it is and how much I love him!

2. Breastfeeding is hard work! If anyone knows this, it's me; but it is worth it 100%. It's the best nourishment for the baby, it's bonding, it's comforting for the baby, and it's free!

3. Parenting is a two person job - I cannot imagine doing this without Jonathan. Babies are hard work! I don't even know how single parents do it.

4. Just when you think you have your baby figured out, they change. I learned this very earn on....and now I've stopped trying to "figure him out"....I just have to roll with it.

5. Go with your instincts - lots of people like to give you advice, but you are the one living 24/7 with this baby and sometimes you just have to go with what feels right.

6. Not sleeping through the night pretty much sucks. It's exhausting and I'm reeeeaallly looking forward to the day when Edison starts sleeping longer at night.

7. Hearing Edison's laughter melts my heart every single time!